About

Botulism: Benefits and Side Effects

The topic I chose to talk about today is botulism. Botulism neurotoxin is one of the most lethal substances known to man. Not many people are aware of what it is and its negative side-effects.

What is Botulism?

3) Botulism is a neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulism. Botulism causes extreme and sometimes fatal food poisoning. Botulism was first identified in Germany in 1735. A person had eaten a German sausage and got food poisoning. This is how botulism got its name because botulism is derived from the Latin word for sausage. Incidence is rare in US but is of great concern because if not treated in time it can be fatal.

5) There are about 110 cases of botulism a year in the United States. About 5% of patients with botulism end up dying.

6)There are three types of botulism:

Wound Botulism

Infant Botulism

Food-borne Botulism

Sources:

Each of the types of botulism has a different source.

Wound Botulism-is acquired from an open sore and injury that has caused an opening in the skin, which has become infected with Clostridium Botulism.

Infant Botulism- happens when an infant eats food, usually honey, which has spores of Clostridium botulism. These spores will grow in the infant’s intestines and release the neurotoxin.

Food-borne Botulism- since Clostridium Botulism is found in soil and lives in low oxygen environments it sometimes can form spores which lie dormant until they are exposed to the necessary environment. Canned foods sometimes provide an ideal environment for the dormant spores to become active and taint the food if not preserved properly.

How it works:

The botulism neurotoxin causes paralysis of the muscles by blocking the axon terminal from releasing from releasing acetylcholine in a neuromuscular junction. The blocking of acetylcholine from being released means that the chemical gates for sodium channels can’t be...

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

...BotulismBotulism may not be at the top of your list of household known diseases, but it is a rare and very serious illness. Botulinium toxin is one of the most powerful known toxins: about one microgram is lethal to humans. Only about 110 people get it every year in the United States. Since it is rare, all forms can be deadly and are considered to be medical emergencies. The cause is a neurotoxin made by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum). This toxin travels through the blood to attach to the nerves that control muscles. From several hours to a week after eating contaminated food, the person may get sick.
Medical descriptions of botulism traces as far back in history as ancient Rome and Greece civilzations. However, the relationship between contaminated food and botulism wasn't defined until the late 1700s. In 1793 a German physician, Justinius Kerner, realized that a substance in spoiled sausages, which he called wurstgift (German for sausage poison), caused botulism. The toxin's origin and identity remained mysterious until Emile von Ermengem, a Belgian professor, isolated Clostridium botulinum in 1895 and identified it as the poison source. Clostridium botulinum is a rod-shaped microorganism. The rod shape (bacillum) makes the cell prokaryotic. Some species of prokaryotes form endospores (thick-walled, dehydrated structures that can resist extreme dryness and very high...

...Botulism
Description
Botulism is a rare but very serious paralytic illness that is caused by botulinum toxin(potentially deadly neurotoxin) which is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The botulinum toxin can enter the body in 3 main ways: by the ingestion of the toxin from eating foods that contain the botulism toxin (food borne botulism), by the contamination of a wound by the bacterium in which the toxin is produced (wound botulism) and Infant botulism which is caused by consuming the spores of the botulinum bacteria, which then grow in the intestines and release the toxin. The powerful exotoxin (botulinum toxin) leads to secretory diarrhea. All forms of botulism can be fatal and are therefore considered to be medical emergencies. Food borne botulism can be very dangerous because there is not a single person at risk but instead many people can be poisoned by the consumption of contaminated food.
What kind of a germ is Clostridium botulinum?
Clostridium botulinum is a gram positive rod shaped bacteria and is part of a group of bacteria which are commonly found in soil all over the world. These rod shaped anaerobic organisms grow best in low or absent oxygen conditions. Clostridium botulinum forms spores which provide them with the ability of surviving in a dormant state until they are exposed to conditions that support their...

...BotulismBotulism is a serious illness that causes flaccid paralysis of muscles. It is caused by a neurotoxin, generically called botulinum toxin, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum (and rarely by C. butyricum and C. baratii). There are seven distinct neurotoxins (types A-G) that Clostridium botulinum produces, but types A, B, and E (and rarely F) are the most common that produce the flaccid paralysis in humans. The other types mainly cause disease in animals and birds, which also develop flaccid paralysis. Most Clostridium species produce only one type of neurotoxin; however, the effects of A, B, E, or F on humans are essentially the same. Botulism is not transmitted person to person. Botulism develops if a person ingests the toxin (or rarely, if it is inhaled or injected) or if the Clostridium spp. organisms grow in the intestines or wounds in the body and toxin is released.
The recorded history of botulism begins in 1735, when the disease was first associated with German sausage (food-borne disease or food poisoning after eating sausage). In 1870, a German physician by the name of Muller derived the name botulism from the Latin word for sausage. Clostridium botulinum bacteria were first isolated in 1895, and a neurotoxin that it produces was isolated in 1944 by Dr. Edward Schantz. From1949 to the 1950s, the toxin (named BoNT A) was shown to block...

...PATH3343: Immunology and Immunopathology
TOPIC: The benefits and sideeffects of interferon-&#945; therapy. Include molecular mechanisms.
It is well known throughout the medical professions that interferon-alpha (IFN-&#945;) has antiviral and anti-tumour properties, the very name interferon' springing from this fact1. Interferon proteins were first described in 1957 by Alick Isaacs and Jean Lindenmann  they discovered that supernatants from virus-infected cell cultures contained a substance that could react with other cells, rendering them resistant to infection by the same or unrelated viruses.2 The interferon family comprises of molecules capable of interfering' with viral infection, and form part of the cytokine superfamily. Cytokines carry signals locally from one cell to another, playing an important role in the body's natural defensive system. In this respect, IFN's are considered to be the first line of defence against viral invasion.3
Although IFN's were first recognised for their potent antiviral properties, they were shown to inhibit cell growth and promote differentiation. Other functions included modulation of activity in virtually every component of the immune system, including antibody response, stimulation of cytotoxic lymphocytes, expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and other surface antigens, recruitment of natural killer (NK) cells and activation of macrophages.3,4
Interferon alpha is...

...
A Return from BOTOX to Botulism
By: T. Claire Frances
Date: July 10, 2014
Instructor: Linda Maywood, MSN, CPNP
Course Title: HIT 102 Pharmacology of Allied Health Professions
BOTOX, Dysport, Xeomin (onabotulinumtoxinA, BTX-A); BTX-B (Myobloc), BTX, BoNT, BTX A-G, C. Botulinum, botulinum toxin; and since 2013, BTX-H; These are all terms synonymous or derived from the most dangerous toxin known to humankind, Botulism. Botulism is the term used most often to describe the serotypes derived from Clostridium botulinum. C. botulinum it's purported, was first isolated as a bacterium by Belgium bacteriologist Emile Pierre van Ermengem in 1897. Botulism (Latin, botulus, meaning "sausage") was prior to coined by poet and physician Justinus Kerner who discovered the "sausage poison;" and who first theorized future therapeutic benefits of the toxic. (Kedlaya,2014).
BTX is found in the soil and survives in low oxygen environments; also found in animals as well as humans. Until 2013, the most potent form of BTX toxic was Botulism Type A. Type A and Type B are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cosmetic procedures; however, it does not pose the same risks as food-borne BTX. Controlled doses for therapeutic medicine are purified and diluted for aesthetic medicine, marketed as BOTOX. Up until 2013, seven major types of BTX were universally accepted serotypes,...

...15 March 2013
The SideEffects of an Abortion
In 1973 the death risk from abortion was 3.4 deaths per 100,000 women. Before 1973 there were even more deaths as it was an illegal procedure, many unqualified people who didn’t know what they are doing, undertook the procedure and often used hangers and other sharp objects. By 1985 the death risk had dropped to .4 deaths per 100,000 women, and today it is a very rare occasion for a woman to die from an abortion. As time has gone on and our country has grown farther away from the principles it was founded on, we have allowed more and more non-Christian things to become accepted that were not accepted centuries ago. One of the things not allowed centuries ago was abortion (Tom). As of 2001 an abortion in the first trimester cost around $372, however I am sure the price has probably gone up due to inflation (Head, Tom). For what reason do 1.2 million women have an abortion (Healthwise)? Some women use abortion as: birth control (contraceptive) failure, inability to support or care for a child, an unwanted pregnancy, or to prevent the birth of a child with birth defects or severe medical problems. Other reasons are some teenagers just do not want their parents to find out they were ever pregnant or a family is not in a good position to have a baby yet (Healthwise). As we know, abortion has specific effects on women physically and...

...SideEffects of Marijuana Use
One of the topics that are constantly in the news now days is marijuana. Several people are for the legalization of marijuana and several articles will tell you the benefits of marijuana. It is less common to see articles now days that tell you about the sideeffects of the use of marijuana, namely the addictive properties that cause an individual to become so addicted to need to be placed in rehab. Most people are surprised to learn that marijuana is the most commonly abused drug in the United States and that most abusers start using in their early teens (NIDA for teens, 2012). People are also unaware that marijuana has some of the same addictive properties of alcohol. Marijuana users build up a tolerance to the drug like alcoholics do when they drink. Users form habits and even have rituals for when and how they use. Most regular users become addicts over time. They will eventually get to a stage in their life when they will do anything they have to in order to support their habit, including lying and stealing. All of these things and more add up over time until they are so addicted that they need to be placed in rehab to help kick the habit.
Marijuana is the most commonly abused drug in the United States (Walker, Neighbors, Rodiguez, Stephens, Roffman, 2011). Studies have shown that from 2007-2010 the number of users of marijuana dramatically increased. In these studies...

...Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought to yourself, "Gee, I sure look white and pasty." No? Well, neither have I, but I can imagine what its like. This is just one of the many problems that can be solved by indoor tanning. Indoor tanning has been around for several years now and has become an effective, efficient, and safe way to get the look you desire. Not only can tanning darken your skin, but it can also lead to weight loss, help your general well-being, and many other things. I propose that indoor tanning is the perfect solution when you want to look great and feel even better. Recent studies show that a regular practice of tanning can lead to weight loss. According to Dr. Zane R. Kime, the author of the book Sunlight Could Save Your Life, stimulation of the thyroid gland by UV rays increases the body's metabolism rate, which burns calories. He says that his clients had well developed muscles and very little fat, even though they had not exercised for months. When sunlight strikes the body, it also increases the tone of the muscles, under the exposed skin. Also sunlight and fresh air aid the nutritive processes of the body by increasing the blood supply to the muscles.Indoor tanning has become increasingly popular in the past ten years. The normal age group of indoor tanners today consists of men and women from the mid-teens to the late forties. Part of the reason for the increase of tanning is because tanning salons today are educating their members more...